In early 2006 after a visit to Canada to visit my sisters, I came back to England alert, confident, and able to once again reclaim my independence. ... I didn't know, but apparently it was common knowledge that a key to my house had been found. Or at least that is what was claimed. It had apparently been lost in the street.

I awoke one night; I had not locked the bedroom door, and there was a man standing in the room, a candle in his hand. He was standing about eight feet away, just watching me. I was terrified and realised I had to keep totally still. He knew he had woken me though and said, "I'm not going to hurt you; go back to sleep". My subconscious must have recognised the voice and trusted the person because I did go back to sleep. Thereafter I ensured the bedroom door was locked.

This and other instances make me realise how vulnerable I was to rape, abuse, or being murdered in the house where I lived. I later learned that the neighbours would enter my house; either by climbing in through the window or using the key which they had found.